New Achievements

Several exciting things have happened over the last few days with Carson.  The first is he has figured out how to feed himself with a fork!  This is huge because we have always fed him ourselves if we are (rarely) out somewhere so he doesn't make a mess of himself or the table, floor etc.  If we don't feed him then he hand-feeds himself and it gets VERY messy.  If there's ketchup in a dish forget it.  He will have it on his clothes, the furniture, the carpet, his iPad, anything.  My sister gave us some utensils that her daughter had been using-they're made for much smaller kiddos with a really fat handle and wide prongs so not much damage can be done with them.  I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner and for some reason the starchiness of the potatoes is very hard to clean off of his hands and screen to his iPad.  For no other reason than I was planning on using it myself, I put the fork on his plate and walked away from where he was sitting at the table to get my drink off the counter.  When I turned around I caught just the tail-end of him putting the fork in his mouth by himself!  I was stunned.  I asked Mike if he had put the food on the fork for Carson and he said no.  Almost right on cue Carson slowly and carefully scooped up another bite and maneuvered it into his mouth.  Tears of happiness.  It's become so amazing to me how much the little things truly mean.  My 5-year-old little guy just did something for the first time that so many parents don't even think about at that age anymore.  It's just a given that's how it's done.

I don't think Carson even really grasped how substantial it was until we started clapping for him with each bite he took.  I really just wanted him to keep doing it so I clapped every time.  It's how we got him to keep throwing his diapers away too.  We still clap for that to this day.  It makes him happy.  He knows he's doing something good.

Carson has also started signing more words.  He has a Signing Time app on his iPad that shows flash cards of some basic signs but also will show you a brief video of Rachel Coleman doing the signs as well.  Out of the blue he's watching 'mom' (hand sideways in front of your face, fingers splayed out like you're giving a high-five only with your thumb on your chin) and he touches his chin with his pointer finger.  At first I wasn't sure if that's what he was trying to do but he kept repeating the video and every time she said mom he would do it.  If you're a parent, do you remember that feeling the first time your child said mom or dad to you?  That burst of pride in your chest?  That's how I felt.  For the first time he was calling me by name.  He then went to dad (same hand formation just on your forehead not the chin) and did the sign back to Rachel on the iPad.  I'm yelling, "Mike!!! Mike!!!" through the house trying to find him probably sounding like I'd lost my mind but I was so afraid it was a fleeting moment and something Carson wouldn't do again and I didn't want him to miss it.

Not only is Carson now signing mom and dad on a regular basis but he is also signing two other things.  The first one he's actually been doing for a while I was just to stupid to notice.  Diaper.  The sign is simple.  You tap your pointer and second fingers on your hips together as if you were placing the tabs on a diaper.  He has been doing this with just his pointer finger and I honestly thought he was telling me he was wet and was asking if he would take his diaper off.  So yes, I knew it had something to do with diaper I just didn't realize he was ACTUALLY signing diaper.  Again, I'm a total idiot.

The second sign he is doing was one that cracked me up.  In the midst of the whole first night of 'mom' and 'dad', he placed one finger on his pursed lips.  I laughed and said, "No silly boy.  Mom is on your chin not your lips."  He then signs it again.  Again I shake my head and tell him he's wrong.  He looks at me like c'mon lady is it really THAT difficult? and grabs a sleeve of Ritz crackers that were lying on the coffee table in front of him.  EAT!!!  "Carson?!?  Are you signing eat???" I practically yell to him (he's standing less than a foot next to me too, poor kid).  He quickly jerks his head down once and walked away. 

He doesn't have great motor planning skills, and his fine motor seems to be weaker than his gross motor but he's getting it.  I don't know what is happening (and I'm not complaining) but for whatever reason he has been exploding over the last few weeks with new things.  I don't know if it has something to do with me being home with him now, or just more sleep since he's not getting up at 6:30 every morning to go to the baby sitter's.  I honestly have no idea but I'm loving every minute of it.

I was lucky enough to capture two of his new signs and his first meal using a fork on camera but it won't let me post them here.  Will have to figure that one out.

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